Ken no Chikara
by geckohawaii
Summary: One-shot. A brief glimpse of young Kenshin's training with Hiko Seijurou.


_So, here's my second attempt at a Kenshin fic, I haven't posted my first yet. Disclaimers: Alas, I do not own ANY of the Rurouni Kenshin characters, but it's probably better that Watsuki wrote the story and not me because of course he's the BEST. Okay, on to the story . . ._

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_**Ken no Chikara**_

The two swordsmen locked eyes, sparks passing between their gazes. Neither blinked. Both held their katana in front of them, ready to attack at the slightest moment's notice. Behind the ledge they stood on, a waterfall pounded relentlessly in the background, and the rising spray settled in a fine coat on the two warriors. The electricity in the air was palpable. One of the swordsmen made a slight motion and the early-morning sun glinted off the mist in his hair. It was as if that was the hidden signal.

"TEHHHH!!"

"HOUUU!!"

The two battle cries split the serenity of the morning, and the swordsmen who had been still as statues now moved so fast that only a trained eye could follow their movements. Two small clouds of dust were the only evidence of where the swordsmen had been standing two seconds earlier.

There wasn't much fight to follow though; in fact, it was over almost as soon as it started. There was a clang as the two swords met, followed soon thereafter by a shrill yell and a loud splash. The victorious swordsman sighed with a disapproval that said he expected what had just happened. Sheathing his katana, he walked to the edge of the rock ledge and peered down at the frothing pool of water below.

A small form splashed to the surface, spluttering, red hair plastered to his face. After giving several hacking coughs, he turned an angry face up to the ledge, where he was met with a smirking gaze. "That wasn't fair!" The red-head shouted, dragging himself and his sword to the calmer, shallower part of the pool, where he proceeded to shake himself like a wet dog. "You didn't tell me you were going to use that move!"

"Idiot, if I told you it wouldn't be much of a duel now, would it?" The man on the ledge, none other than Hiko Seijurou, 13th master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, jumped down and landed in front of his incensed student. "If you would listen to what I was telling you, you wouldn't have a problem blocking me. Pay attention!"

"I am paying attention!" The boy slammed his katana into its sheath with surprising force for one so young. "But you're stronger than me! How am I supposed to block when you're gonna send me into the waterfall anyway!"

Hiko smirked, amused. "You're catching on," He said, taking his katana out. "We'll try it again, come on." The boy was staring furiously into the distance, oblivious of anything Hiko had just said. "Kenshin!" Hiko said sharply, hitting him on the head none-too-lightly with his sword.

Kenshin glared sullenly and pulled his katana out, thrusting it in front of him with a determined expression. Two years of training with Hiko Seijurou and he still couldn't hit him. It was getting more than slightly annoying. Kenshin felt he had spent more than his fair share of time scrabbling onto shore after being sent into the icy waterfall over which he trained. Looking at his master now, dry and comfortable with his cape flapping behind him, Kenshin scowled further and lifted his katana a little higher. "Shishou, onegaisurunda!" He bowed sharply.

"Getting serious now, are we?" Hiko mused. It was a sight he'd seen often over the past two years. After spending several hours sparring and failing to get a good hit in anywhere, Kenshin would completely focus all of his energies on landing just one strike. "Okay, let's see then."

Eyes flashing, Kenshin raced forward, mind already running through his offensive. If there was one thing he was good at, it was reading his shishou's moves. The problem was, he never seemed to be able to read them fast enough to do anything about it. Today was a new day though, and Kenshin analyzed his shishou's moves with unfailing alacrity.

"TEHHH!!" Kenshin leapt towards the left, katana held horizontally. He would fake a neck strike and swing around for the waist. He smiled inwardly when Hiko lifted his katana. _He's gonna fall for it_! Kenshin swung his katana around, checking it just before it would have clanged against Hiko's sword, and brought it down, using all his force to slam it against his master's waist. Kenshin jumped back in surprise when he heard the sharp _ching!_ that said his katana had meet steel. Hiko had used his saiya to block Kenshin's strike.

"Not good enough," He told his panting student, spinning his saiya back into its place. Jaw set, Kenshin came at him again, this time holding his katana lower. He turned the sword sideways at the last minute, planning to slide it under Hiko's guard.

"Baka deshi," Hiko said, bringing his katana down almost lazily on top of Kenshin's, the force of the blow sending his student sprawling on the ground. Hiko followed up with a smack on the rear end for good measure, using the flat side of his blade.

Kenshin leapt off the ground with a squeak, rubbing his wounded pride and glaring daggers at his master. "Shishou!"

"This is getting boring Kenshin," Hiko said tiredly. "If this is all you can do, maybe I should just find myself a student who's truly worthy of learning such a great style." Kenshin growled and lifted his katana once again.

"Onegaisurunda," He said through clenched teeth, wishing with all his heart that he could wipe the smug expression of his shishou's face. It was his master's quick reactions that were stopping him. He seemed to be able to read everything Kenshin was about to do, even his feints. _How am I supposed to stop him from doing that_? Kenshin thought to himself angrily. He couldn't of course. He'd have to think of something else.

An idea suddenly popped into Kenshin's head. Hiko had been using his saiya to block half of his moves. If Kenshin used his katana to distract Hiko, letting him block it with his sheath, Kenshin could take his own saiya out and use it to attack. Kenshin raced forward for the third time, fighting spirit renewed. Bringing his katana up to hit his master's arm, Kenshin grinned to himself when he saw Hiko move his sword to meet him. Kenshin jumped into the air to place himself over his master's katana, then sliced down, waiting for his master to draw his saiya.

Hiko did so, saying in a tired voice, "The same thing twice Kenshin? I didn't think even you were that stupid."

_Now's my chance_! Kenshin didn't reply but grabbed his own saiya with lightning speed and sent it with all the force he could muster at Hiko's head. He saw the fleeting look of shock pass across his master's face, saw the quick twist of the hand that brought his katana around to block Kenshin. It was too late though. Kenshin's saiya slammed into Hiko's head and the last thing a deeply satisfied Kenshin saw was his master rubbing his head, an annoyed but pleased expression on his face.

The roots of the tree trunk Kenshin was resting against pressed into his back uncomfortably and he gave a restless twitch before his eyes opened slowly, gradually focusing on the large blurred shape in front of them. Kenshin jerked upright when he recognized the intimidating countenance that was looking down at him. "Shishou!" He made a face and put a hand to his side which had unexplainably begun to ache.

"You finally managed to hit me," Somehow, Hiko managed to make it sound like an insult, "but you forgot to take into account that I could still strike back. No one is incapable of using their legs as weapons. You'd better learn that sometime soon before I break a few of your ribs." Kenshin glared at his shishou and pushed himself away from the tree, favoring his side.

"Well I bet I made you bleed," He said pettily. Not quite as impressive as cracking someone's bones, but against Hiko Seijurou it was the best Kenshin felt he was ever going to be able to do.

Hiko put a hand to his head with a wry smile. "Hm, I think you may have. Still, it wasn't enough." He watched thoughtfully as Kenshin staggered to his feet, taking several drunken steps before getting his balance back. "Why an aerial attack?" He asked finally. Kenshin shrugged, wincing as he did so. He was already sore and the day wasn't even halfway over.

"I'd already tried everything else and it didn't work. Besides, you leave more spots open from above and you always say use your opponents weakness against them."

"So my impudent pupil is trying to tell me I'm weak now?" Hiko asked with a jesting tone. "Shall we have another match and test this theory?"

"No," Kenshin said flatly. "That's not what I meant and you know it, so stop messing with my words." He added an epithet under his breath.

"You shouldn't talk back to your elders that way," Hiko replied with an admonishing tone. "Otherwise they may punish you by, oh," His eyes gleamed, "taking away your meals for the rest of the day," Hiko couldn't stop a laugh at the horrified look on Kenshin's face.

"Shishouuuuu!" Kenshin began in a pleading voice, stopping when his master began chuckling. His hands clenched around his katana. "Stop making fun of me!" Kenshin shouted furiously. He would have run towards his master, fists flying, if he thought it would help any. _Stupid shishou_. "You said you were going to show me something today anyway, and all you've done is beat me up!"

"I had to make sure you were ready," Hiko said, walking over to Kenshin and clonking him on the head with his saiya.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Kenshin yelled, throwing a punch at Hiko.

Hiko caught his fist and held it in a bone-crushing grip. "For thinking rude thoughts about your master," He answered as Kenshin tried in vain to free his hand.

"I wasn't–thinking–anything rude," Kenshin grunted, bracing his feet against Hiko's leg and pulling with all his might. After trying everything but pulling his arm from its socket, Kenshin flopped on the ground, scowling darkly and thinking evil thoughts.

"Decided to stop throwing a temper tantrum?" Hiko asked coolly. Kenshin gave a noncommittal grunt and turned his head in the opposite direction his shishou was standing. "I'll do you a favor and take that as a yes," Hiko dropped Kenshin's hand and sat down next to him, cape settling neatly around him. He waited a minute. "Kenshin,"

Kenshin looked up at the serious tone. His shishou wasn't playing around any more. "Hai," He said obediently, forgetting the lingering pain in his side and the fact that his hand was numb from Hiko's grip.

"I've taught you all the fundamentals of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu," Hiko began. "You can, for the most part, apply them in battle." Kenshin thought proudly of his earlier move. "You still haven't learned what the true style of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu is though."

Kenshin blinked. "I haven't?" He thought that's what he had been doing all along but apparently not.

"The moves that make it what it is," Hiko explained. "And that's what we're going to start today." Kenshin felt the excitement rising in him. The true style of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu . . . he thought what he'd learned already was pretty impressive, so this must be . . . Kenshin couldn't even imagine but he was impatient to start.

"I'm ready shishou!" He exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Sit down," Hiko said with exasperation, putting a hand on Kenshin's head and shoving him to the ground. "This is something you have to hear first, I'm not teaching my most impressive moves to someone who has half-baked ideas of what they're learning."

"I'm listening," Kenshin said sulkily, moving Hiko's hand off his head with an irritated shove.

"Good." Hiko stood. "Here's where you can put those anticipating skills of yours to use. Watch carefully," He gave an impatient nod at Kenshin. "What are you waiting for, stand up!"

"But you just said–!"

"Do you want to learn this or not?" Hiko demanded. Kenshin shied away from the hand reaching for his arm and stood, wondering what his shishou was going to do. "Now," Hiko took a stance, looking into Kenshin's curiosity-filled eyes. "Pay attention." He had hardly finished the order before he shot into the air, and Kenshin's eyes watered as he looked skyward, trying to follow his master's trajectory.

"HOUUUUUU!!"

Kenshin was used to hearing the intimidating cry and didn't flinch. He grabbed his katana, prepared to defend his shishou's attack. Problem was, his vision was a blur from looking into the bright sky and he couldn't distinguish anything from the shifting lights in front of his eyes. He could still feel his shishou's kenki though and that was how he was able to bring his katana in the right direction.

Hiko's stroke swept through Kenshin's unconfident block though, and the red-head went flying backward as pain blossomed in his shoulder. He came to rest against the tree he had landed on hardly ten minutes earlier, grimacing. He wasn't about to complain though, it would just annoy his shishou.

Speaking of, the swordsman had landed lightly on the ground and was striding towards his student, katana held over his shoulder casually. "Ryuu tsui sen," He said, standing above Kenshin. "The most powerful aerial attack of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, using a battoujutsu." Kenshin was still leaning against the tree. "Are you going to sit there the rest of the day?" Hiko asked impatiently.

"Iya," Kenshin pushed himself away from the tree, ignoring his new bruise. "Ryuu tsui sen," He repeated. "It's amazing shishou."

Hiko gave a smug smile. "Of course it is. When executed by the right person, anything is amazing." He waited for Kenshin to get to his feet, then motioned towards the stream that the waterfall lead in to. "I hope you got a good look because it's your turn now."

Kenshin gaped at him, waiting to see if his shishou was joking. "N-now?" Kenshin said in a voice hardly above a whisper. His shishou just looked at him. He wasn't joking. "But shishou–" Kenshin protested, "I could hardly see it! How am I supposed to do it?"

"Better figure out a way," Hiko said, walking towards the stream. "Go ahead, I'm not going to attack."

Kenshin followed him and once at the stream took up his position across from his shishou, swallowing uncertainly. It wasn't the first time he'd had to attempt a move with only one viewing but ryuu tsui sen was much more difficult than a basic chest block.

"Are you waiting for the sun to go down?" Hiko asked sarcastically as Kenshin stood with his hand an inch from his katana for several minutes.

"I'm remembering it," Kenshin said defiantly, face reddening when Hiko replied slyly,

"I thought you said you didn't see it?"

Kenshin ignored the remark and crouched down, thinking to himself. It was an aerial move and although he may not have seen it he knew a battoujutsu in the air would have to be executed at the last minute for it to be affective, otherwise the opponent would see the move coming. There was nothing else to do but go for it.

"Ryuu tsui sen!" Kenshin shouted as he rocketed up, keeping his arms and legs close together to gain as much momentum as he could. As he began his descent, Kenshin saw his shishou's katana come out from its sheath. _But he said he wasn't attacking_! Kenshin thought with a start. It was almost time for the battoujutsu though and he couldn't be distracted.

Kenshin saw the point on his shishou's shoulder he was aiming for and with a twist of his body, pulled his katana from the saiya with startling speed and swung it at Hiko's shoulder. Kenshin felt a wave of disappointment as his arms were jolted by Hiko's block. He kept going though, flipping himself over his shishou's katana and swinging it backwards at Hiko's back. Kenshin wasn't able to follow through with the swing though because Hiko's foot caught him in the gut halfway there and he stumbled back several feet, coughing. "S-shishou, you s-said you weren't–going to attack!" Kenshin wheezed.

"I didn't say I wasn't going to defend myself." Hiko corrected. "What was I supposed to do, let you get a good hit in?"

Kenshin saw from the look in his shishou's eyes that he had been second-guessed. His shishou had been expecting everything that Kenshin had given him. The small amount of pride Kenshin felt from performing the ryuu tsui sen vanished in a gulf of gloom. He bit his lip in disappointment, shoving his katana back in its saiya.

"I wasn't expecting you to perform a perfect ryuu tsui sen on your first try," Hiko said casually. Kenshin's face brightened.

"Then–it was right?" He asked, letting a small smile escape.

"It was fine," Hiko said. "However, since you're so puny, of course there was no way it was going to work on me." Kenshin glared at the ground at the reference to his size. He hated being small. His whole short life people had underestimated his abilities because he looked years younger than he was. "Which is why this technique is perfectly suited for you Kenshin," Hiko continued. "It focuses on speed, and skill, not strength."

"So you're saying I'm not strong?!" Kenshin yelped. Hiko bopped him on the head.

"Baka deshi! I just gave you a compliment! Because you're small and quick you have an advantage doing aerial maneuvers, so learn to use it." Pulling his cloak around him he turned away from Kenshin, who was looking at him with his mouth open. Had his shishou just said he did something good? "Take a break," Hiko interrupted Kenshin's thoughts as he walked back to his hut. "We'll work on ryuu shou sen next."

Kenshin trotted up to his master's side and tried to match his long steps. "Shishou," Kenshin had to break into a trot. "Do you think one day I can become a great swordsman and protect people?" Hiko looked down at the small boy, remembering the day he had found him. _I wanted to protect them, even if I threw away my life_. Such serious words coming from an eight-year-old who looked like he was five had surprised Hiko. It was what had made him take an interest in the skinny, red-haired kid who had called himself Shinta. Hiko quickly looked away as Kenshin glanced up at him, waiting for an answer.

"If used correctly, Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu is strong enough to do whatever you wish with it," He said in reply, deliberately avoiding mentioning Kenshin's skill level in the sentence. "Don't take it lightly, Kenshin."

"Is that why you learned it?" Kenshin asked innocently. "To protect people?" Hiko stared at him for a long moment.

"No," He said finally. He was curious though. "What gave you that idea?"

Kenshin shrugged, slipping into the hut ahead of his shishou and running for the pile of blankets that was Hiko's bed. "You saved me," He said simply.

"Hmph, I didn't save you, I just took revenge for you," Hiko said, grabbing Kenshin by his shirt and tossing him off his bed. "You're just lucky I happened to be passing by at that moment."

Kenshin refused to give up. "So you learned it to kill people?" He asked, sitting next to his master and ignoring the death-like glare cast his way. "You didn't really care if those slave traders were going to kill me or not?" Kenshin was well aware that it was a double-edged question. He wanted to know though.

"Where are you getting these questions from?!" Hiko exploded with exasperation, dodging Kenshin's query. "I learned it because I wanted to, the same reason anyone learns something. Satisfied?" Kenshin nodded.

"So you did learn it protect people," He said as if to himself and Hiko rolled his eyes.

"Think what you will." He nudged Kenshin in the direction of the water bucket lying near the door, purposefully drawing attention away from the previous subject that had reached an uncomfortably deep level. "Go get a drink before we start training again."

"I'm not thirsty," Kenshin replied as he wiped the sweat from his flushed face with the back of his hand.

"You're an awful liar," Hiko said. "I can feel the heat coming off of you from here. Go drink something, I don't feel like waiting around for an hour when you pass out from dehydration."

"I can get water from the stream then," Kenshin amended. He had no wish to trudge into the woods to draw water.

"I'm sure you'll swallow enough," Hiko agreed, secretly glad that Kenshin didn't want to stop to get water. It was a sign of determination. "Alright, ikuso." He didn't have to say it again, Kenshin was already at the doorway, looking back at Hiko with the bright expression of one eager to learn.

"I'm gonna do it the first time shishou!" He said determinately, the morning's previous disappointments already ghosts of memories in the back of his head. Hiko smirked. It was good to see such energy. Kenshin would need it to master the noble art that was Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.

"Stop wasting time talking and get out there then," Hiko said, giving Kenshin a supplementary boot on his rear end. Kenshin snarled out of habit and ran out to the field, pulling his katana as he went. Hiko followed him, the words of the girl who had died protecting Kenshin echoing through his head. _Save this boy, save this boy_ . . . Hiko had literally done that but he felt that the girl hadn't just been talking about Kenshin's life but his soul as well. Seeing so many people killed in front of him at such a young age . . .

Hiko stopped thinking about it. Pity never did anyone any good. Kenshin was stable enough. He had the strength of a nihontou. In fact, Kenshin resembled the curved Japanese sword in many ways. Both were thin and looked as if rough contact would break them. Appearances were deceiving though, because the blend of metals the nihontou was carefully forged from gave it strength unmatched by any other sword. _Ken no chikara_ . . . The power of the sword was best used by one with the heart of the sword. Not for the first time, Hiko applauded himself for giving Kenshin such a fitting name.

"Shishou! Come on, I'm ready!" Hiko's reverie was interrupted as Kenshin shouted at him impatiently from the middle of the field. Seeing the committed look on the young face, Hiko allowed himself a proud smile. Maybe his protégé wouldn't turn out to be such a baka deshi after all. And with that thought, he strode to the middle of the field, locking eyes with Kenshin. Neither blinked.

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_Comments, reviews, criticism . . .? Good, bad, something along the lines of, "please don't take up writing for a career"? I'll take anything, although I appreciate constructive criticism over flames._


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